If there’s one thing that makes our blood boil, it’s probably scammers. Being extra wary now, you may not even pick up calls from any unknown number, fearing that it might be a scammer.
Some scammers, however, are less afraid of revealing their identities online. Or at least using an identity of whatever sort online.
A single mother who wanted a free milk dispenser fell victim to one. The worst part? She had to pay a delivery fee of $15 but never got the dispenser.
We’re not entirely sure if the scammer was inspired by Grab’s extra small order delivery fee when you order something below a specific price, but this was so not cool.
What Really Happened
In a post uploaded by the single mother named Nxr Xzexn on the Facebook group (Singapore) give away / donate item FOC for those might need on Saturday (13 May), she posted photos of the milk dispenser she wanted and screenshots of her conversation with her scammer.
She messaged the scammer, who went by the name Ryan Yap on Facebook, as she intended to get the Lucky Baby milk dispenser he posted for her seven-month-old child.
He sent her a screenshot of the address to collect the dispenser and asked whether she wanted to pick it up herself or have it delivered to her home.
When she told him she could pick it up herself as she was nearby in Marsiling, he did a 180 and said he would prefer people not to come to his house.
As she suggested other alternatives, like placing the item outside his house or sourcing for a courier, he asked if she could pay a $15 delivery fee, to which she agreed.
While she was told that the milk dispenser would be delivered to her house on the same day before 9 pm, it never arrived.
In the caption, she said the scammer blocked her after the conversation. She has filed a police report.
She then questioned, “How can someone take advantage of others’ hardship?”
Goes by Other Names
Ryan Yap is apparently not the only name that this scammer has. Maybe he thinks he’s a celebrity with all the aliases, but really, he’s just annoying many on Facebook.
Netizens commented on the single mum’s post that the scammer had offered free items under different names.
One commenter posted a screenshot of a conversation with his other account, under the name Lee Zhen Han, regarding a milk dispenser as well.
Under the name Ryan Yap, he also offered a free bicycle. The bike was in “very good condition” and even had a child seat and a front basket.
But this was obviously too good to be true, as mentioned by a commenter.
Others advised the single mum to be more wary of scammers, citing steps to take so she doesn’t fall victim to them again.
Many criticised the scammer, especially since he was taking advantage of someone facing hardships in this case.
Not the First Time
Last year, Ms Zhang, 36, a single mother, fell victim to a scam where she lost $15,000 and was left with only $17.06 in her bank account.
She told Shin Min Daily News that she received a message that the sender was hiring part-time workers and the job entailed a flexible schedule. Her pay could range between $50 to $500.
As the scammer had the Shopee logo as their profile picture, it seemed pretty legit.
When she started her job, one of her tasks was being a “buyer” on Amazon with a 20 per cent commission based on the product’s price.
The website she went on to purchase the products was a fake one designed by the scammers to mimic the actual Amazon website, and she was made to transfer the costs to a specific bank account.
Before compensating her, the scammers continued telling her to purchase more expensive products.
Some orders didn’t go through, which they told her resulted from errors or delays. Thinking she would get her money back, she re-ordered these items. She had spent $15,610 in the span of 12 hours.
So we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to scammers now and never interact with so-called Shopee accounts unless we’re on the app itself.
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